The Battle of Poimanenon or Poemanenum was fought in early 1224 (or possibly late 1223) between the forces of the two main successor states of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

; the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...

and the

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by Walter Abel Heurtley, W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C ...

. The opposing forces met at Poimanenon, south of

Cyzicus Cyzicus ( ; ; ) was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula (the classical Arctonnesus), a tombolo which is said to have or ...

Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; ; ; ) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lyd ...

, near

Lake Kuş Lake Kuş () or Lake Manyas () is a lake in western Turkey, located in the Bandırma region. It is a shallow nutrient-rich freshwater lake (average depth 3 m) fed by groundwater and four streams. Small deltas have formed where the latter enter t ...

Background and battle

Since the Treaty of Nymphaeum in 1214, the Latin Empire had controlled the northwestern littoral of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, from

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; , ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletian who rul ...

Adramyttium Adramyttium ( ''Adramyttion'', Ἀδραμύττειον ''Adramytteion'', or Ἀτραμύττιον ''Atramyttion'') was an ancient city and bishopric in Aeolis, in modern-day Turkey. It was originally located at the head of the Edremit Gulf, G ...

, as well as the

n plain. In November 1221, the energetic founder of the Nicaean Empire,

Theodore I Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris or Lascaris (; 1175November 1221) was the first emperor of Nicaea—a successor state of the Byzantine Empire—from 1205 to his death. Although he was born to an obscure aristocratic family, his mother was related t ...

, died, and was succeeded by his son-in-law,

John III Doukas Vatatzes John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes (; 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known as Theodore II Doukas Laskaris. Life John Doukas Vatatzes, born in about 1192 i ...

, who had emerged as the victor out of the civil strife that had commenced since the death of Theodore I Laskaris. The succession was disputed by Theodore's brothers, the ''

sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' (, ; ; ), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence (Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire). The word is a compound ...

es'' Alexios Laskaris and Isaac Laskaris, who rose up in revolt and requested the aid of the Latin emperor,

Robert of Courtenay Robert I (died 1228), also known as Robert of Courtenay, was Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1221 until his death in 1228. He was a younger son of the emperor Peter II of Courtenay, and Yolanda of Flanders. When it became known in France tha ...

. At the head of a Latin army, they marched against Vatatzes. The two armies met at Poimanenon, near a church dedicated to the

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

. In the ensuing battle, Vatatzes achieved a decisive victory; among the captives taken were the two Laskaris brothers, who were blinded. The 13th-century Byzantine historian

George Akropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople. Life In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the logo ...

says that Emperor John, "... won a victory by storm". His narration describes the Nicaean army as being almost defeated, before the Emperor, with a few men, turned the tide, "For he took hold of a spear and struck the enemy".Makrides (2007), p. 166

Aftermath

Summing up the importance of this battle, George Akropolites wrote that "Since then (this battle), the state of the Italians he Latin Empire... began to decline". The news about the defeat at Poimanenon caused panic in the Latin imperial army besieging Serres from the

Despotate of Epirus The Despotate of Epirus () was one of the Greek Rump state, successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ...

, which withdrew in chaos in the direction of Constantinople and was therefore defeated decisively by the troops of the Epirote ruler,

Theodore Komnenos Doukas Theodore Komnenos Doukas (, ''Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas;'' Latinized as Theodore Comnenus Ducas; died 1253) or Theodore Angelos Komnenos was the ruler of Epirus and Thessaly from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica and most of Macedonia and we ...

. This victory opened up the way for the recovery of most of the Latin possessions in Asia. Threatened both by Nicaea in Asia and

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

in Europe, the Latin emperor sued for peace, which was concluded in 1225. According to its terms, the Latins abandoned all their Asian possessions except for the eastern shore of the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

and the city of

with the surrounding region.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poimanenos, Battle Of 1224 in Asia Battles involving the Empire of Nicaea Battles involving the Latin Empire Conflicts in 1224 Byzantine Mysia History of Balıkesir Province Nicaean–Latin wars